A Chance
by Yei
Summary: HIATUS Ed is finally able to go back to his world.But as always, there is a catch, and even the Fullmetal Alchemist is not able to tell easily if the chance that was given to him is a blessing or a curse.Pre-movie.Eventually RoyEd.Timetravel
1. Prologue

**Summary:** After two years, Edward is finally able to go back to his world. But as always, there is a catch, and even the Fullmetal Alchemist is not able to tell easily if the chance that was given to him is a blessing or a curse. After series, Pre-movie. Yaoi (RoyEd)

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it. Promise.

**A.N:** This is entirely anime based, though obviously the whole concept of the "Truth-being" was inspired by what I've heard about manga, but even that I changed to the way I found I needed. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy

**-**-------

**Prologue **

The familiar yellow light was absent. That was the first sign to Edward that something was different from before, and he thought that maybe this was it, maybe he was finally at the end of his journeys and the gate was going to claim him (all of him – his body, his mind, his soul) for the eternity. But the moment he thought this the stifling darkness around him shifted somehow, and he felt he was no longer alone. One more moment later he heard footsteps.

There was no light, but as the sound came nearer, the human silhouette became clearer and clearer until Edward could see the person as well as if he stood in broad daylight. It was a boy no older than ten, smiling innocently and waving at him.

"Hello, Edward" he said, halting his steps as he stood in front of him and grinning up at him playfully "I'd say I'm glad to see you here again, but as I _am_ The Truth, it would feel bad to lie."

"The Truth?" Edward asked, surprised, and the boy before him pouted.

"I'm hurt, nii-chan. You came in contact with my gate so many times and you can't even tell who I am?" The Truth asked and turned away from him. When it turned back it was looking like a woman as beautiful as Lust "It doesn't matter, I suppose." She spoke and began moving again, her steps elegant and soundless.

Edward did feel like he knew the presence before him, met it before, _bargained_ with it before. He knew it well enough not to be surprised at all by it changing its shape.

"It feels like you are a regular customer of mine by now" the woman said, slowly walking around him, making Edward feel as if she were a predator, circling its prey "And so I decided to give you some… special service, if you will." She whispered in a silky voice going behind his back, and then appearing again next to his left arm, looking as an old man with two golden front teeth.

"You see, equivalent exchange is a tricky thing, especially in this situation. If we want to keep things even, I have to make a real effort this time." The old man said, looking at him with seemingly unblinking eyes, making Edward feel as uncomfortable and anxious as his words did. "You must have enough experience already to realize that even all that blood down there is not enough to pay the whole price." Edward flinched at these words and looked away – he was angry, horrified, ashamed, sad, he was _grieving, _he had no longer expected to come here – but The Truth came into his line of sight again, unperturbed by his reaction, this time looking as a teenage girl.

"I've put a lot of thinking in this" she said gazing dreamily off into the distance "And I think I found a way to make _the given_ and _the taken_ equal. The good news for you is, you get to go back to your world. But I'm afraid you'll find yourself a stranger to your friends. You'll understand what I mean quite soon after arriving there, I'm sure. You're a smart one after all. A prodigy" the girl batted her eyelashes as if flirting, but he did not care about that. He was busy trying to make sense out of Truth's words.

"To say it differently, I'm giving you a path home, and I'm giving you a chance to change things. That's your gain." Spoke a man in a business suit, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with a pale blue napkin "But the catch is, you won't be able to change anything for yourself, you'll stay as you are. That might be more difficult than you imagine. And moreover, you lose all the relationships. That's the price." He finished and put his glasses back on.

"What do you mean?" asked Edward. He couldn't make any sense of what The Truth was saying and his head was starting to hurt.

"Don't be too hasty, young man" huffed a granny, putting her basket on the ground. It smelled like baking. "As I've said, you'll understand everything soon. You should be going now, anyway. Do you want something to eat on the way? I've got some delicious warm buns in here. With blueberry jam" she said, taking off the cloth covering the basket to reveal that it really was full of buns, taking one out and putting it in a baffled Edward's hand.

"Oh, and take this too" a teacher-like woman said taking out a blueberry sized thing from her pocket. "It's sour, but then again, most memories are. Take care of it, I can only give you one – it's to make the equation equal on both sides. Use it wisely. Think things through and save it for the one to whom you are sure you have to give it, and not to someone who might not even want to remember. Now off you go."

There was no flash of light, but there was even more darkness, and after that, Ed found himself in front of his house – the same one he burned so many years ago – with no one to explain anything to him, and a still warm bun in his hand.

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**A.N:** If I left you confused, don't worry – a lot will be explained in the next chapter. Feedback is loved, cherished and worshipped. So please review! XD

Oh, and this is my first multi-chapter (and I do hope I'll be able to finish it, though I am not making any promises about updating fast), so someone to read through my writings before I force them unto other people would be very much appreciated xD. English is not my first language after all xD.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** not mine

**A.****N:** Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I'm so happy someone actually liked the prologue. I hope I won't disappoint you ;)

I guess I should clear up a few things before you read on though, just in case: though this is indeed different from the movie-verse, but I did see the CoS, so most of Ed's memories from the past will be based on the movie. Everything is going to be explained though, so you don't have to have watched it. Some things will be changed (because I want to and I can xD), but nevertheless if you don't want to spoil yourselves, don't read on (or better yet, just watch the movie first ;) ).

Now, enjoy xD

--

**Chapter 1**

The house in front of him shouldn't exist anymore. He knew that both intellectually and emotionally. This was the very reason he had burnt it down - to accept the fact that there was no going back and no backing out. That there was nobody and nothing to return to, and that he has to move on. But the house before him stood on and didn't disappear no matter how many times he blinked or how hard he rubbed his eyes. And a slight suspicion began to creep into his heart about what exactly The Truth has done.

He stood staring at the house for a good couple of minutes before his growling stomach reminded him of itself and of the bun in his hand. The surreal circumstances in which he got the food still unnerved him, but realizing it was better to try and think of what to do with a full stomach rather than an empty one, he shrugged and took a bite out of it. To his surprise it really was delicious (and with blueberry jam) and so he finished it in no time.

After filling his stomach concentrated on thinking about the situation and looking around. To his relief, found he was in different clothes than the ones he left the other world with. Instead of his traveling suit (it had been bloody, he remembered, because there had been so much blood, so much death around him before the gate opened and swallowed him in) he now wore an outfit he hadn't worn for a very long time – his old black leather pants, black undershirt and a red coat. Only they weren't his old clothes because he was eighteen already, no longer fifteen and he had hit a growth spurt in the other world (he had only been a few inches shorter than Alfons in the end, before… Not that Alfons was a tall person himself) but the outfit fit him perfectly.

There was a bag by his feet. His traveling bag, the one he knew Greta dragged into the array to put beside him while she had still been strong enough. Still alive...

Edward shook his head. He shouldn't think about them. Not yet, not now. He should pull himself together as quickly as possible and try to find out in what situation did he land exactly and what was the chance that The Truth had given him.

Carefully hoisting the bag onto his back he took a deep breath and finally moved towards the house that was still a distance ahead of him. As he walked the road that he knew so well, the door of the house opened and out came a woman – a woman he didn't expect to see ever again.

His mother was as beautiful as he remembered. She had an aura of gentleness and love surrounding her, and she moved with elegance that he never saw another woman possess. She brushed a stray strand of her brown hair away from her face and moved a couple more steps before stopping and starting to hang out the laundry she carried out from the house, completely oblivious to the man watching her.

Edward stared at her in daze for a good few minutes, his mind whirling with questions and speculations, trying to come to a conclusion that would fit both everything The Truth had said and what was happening before his eyes, but could only arrive back at the suspicions that nagged at his mind ever since arriving at this world. For some reason he must be back in time, far enough to be able to see his mother alive and well, and hanging out laundry.

He had to take his last thought back when he saw her cough into her hand. The sound of the cough carried to him and recognized it as the same cough he knew from the hours he had spent at her deathbed. She was not well after all.

It was this cough that snapped him out of his daze and forced him to hurriedly make a few tentative decisions and plans. He didn't think his mother would react well if a stranger approached her and told her he was her son from the future. He should approach her with a false identity and act very carefully.

Edward quickly came up with a story and a name he could tell his mother and uncertainly moved forward again. He was only a few feet away when she finally raised her head and saw him. Her face instantly lit up with a smile, and she shifted to face him fully before speaking softly:

"Hello there, it's quite rare to see an unfamiliar face in Rizembool. May I be of any help?"

"Oh, erm… hello" he said, his voice trembling despite his earlier decisions "I'm Ed. Erm… Edwin… Heiderich. I am a traveling alchemist, and I was hoping to find a place to stay before it gets dark" he said, gesturing slightly to the sun that was already getting quite low. "Can you tell me if there is an inn anywhere near?"

"An alchemist?" she said, curiosity and delight suddenly appearing on her face "Erm, there is an inn, but it is quite a way down the road. Rizembool is really spread out, you see. But you can stay in my house if you want. There is a spare bedroom you could use." She offered, just as Edward expected she would. She was always so caring and ready to help everyone, and she was convinced that no alchemist could be bad. He supposed he should just be happy she did not have any reason to think otherwise until the end…

"Oh… That would be very nice of you. If it won't be too much of a trouble?" he said, trying not to let his excitement be heard in his voice.

"Of course it isn't. I wouldn't have offered otherwise, would I?" she joked. "Let me get this finished and I'll show you where you can sleep." She said gesturing at the laundry basket still half full at her feet.

"Oh… Let me help you then" he said and moved to do so.

She smiled even wider instead of saying thank you and soon they were working together. Edward couldn't help but sneak a few glances her way when she wasn't looking. He couldn't imagine what kind of impression he had made, stuttering and erming as much as he did. The whole situation still hadn't sunk in and he felt surreal, as if he were in a dream. He tried to think deeper about what was happening and what should he say next, but all he really could think about was that he was with his mother again.

When they were finished with the laundry, his mother led him into the house intending to show him his room. As they made their way through the house, Edward was once again overwhelmed with emotions, but he forced them aside so he could concentrate on what his mother was saying.

"Here you go. You can put your things here." She said opening the door to the guest bedroom "And if you want to freshen up while I prepare dinner then the bathroom is over there" she gestured towards the said room.

"I don't know how I'll be able to thank you enough, Ms?.."

"Oh, how rude it is of me not to introduce myself! That's Mrs. Elric, but you should just call me Trisha. And don't worry about anything. It's so rare to get guests here in Rizembool that I'm thankful for a distraction." She waved it off. "Now I'll go prepare dinner. You should make yourself at home."

As he stood under the water stream in the shower letting it relax his tense muscles, Edward tried to think of what he should do next. He had to come up with a believable story since he supposed he couldn't tell anyone who he really was. After all, his own instincts screamed at him that the whole situation was impossible. But he couldn't find any reason for The Truth to be deceiving him and playing tricks on him. For some reason it chose to dump him in the past, and now that he calmed down a little and he thought, all the possibilities dazzled him.

He understood now what The Truth meant while saying he was given a chance to change things for others. Of course, he couldn't change his _own_ past no matter what, especially as that his past no longer existed at all in the eyes of the others. He understood this and accepted it. But still, he saw his current situation as nothing else but a great opportunity to save people and to set things right.

He knew he couldn't really save his mother – she was obviously already ill and the doctor had said that the illness was incurable. His attempt at Human Transmutation taught him that some things were unavoidable. This truth hurt, but he forced himself to accept it.

Nevertheless, at the very least he could try and stop his younger self and his brother from making the biggest mistake in their lives.

Moreover, with his knowledge of the future he could try and take care of a lot of other problems before they even arose. Homunculi, Nina, Liore and Dr. Marcoh. Hughes. Just thinking of the possibilities made him feel dizzy.

When he finally emerged from the shower he dressed in the clothes he took from his bag. He quickly slipped into his blue jeans and put on a black, long-sleeved shirt. When he picked up his other clothes, which, he gathered, were much better suited for traveling, something fell out of the pocket of his leather pants. Picking it up, Edward recognized it as the small object that The Truth has given him at the very end of their conversation. Squinting a bit, he could just make out the word "Memories" written on the small, pill-like object.

''_Use it wisely' The Truth had said. But what exactly is this?_' Edward thought as he inspected the item. He was supposed to give this to someone who he wanted to remember. Memories, but memories of what? Of Edward's own past? Or would the person Edward choose to give this to gain the memories of their future selves? It was the most logical conclusion Edward could come to with his limited information.

After putting his clothes and the mysterious object in his room, Edward slipped into the kitchen to find his mother cooking. It was a sight so pleasant and familiar that it took him a few seconds to get his voice back.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked, and his mother looked around to look at him, startled.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in, Mr… Heiderich, was it?" she asked politely.

"Just call me Ed."

"Oh no, that would be too awkward" his mother said, and at his confused look explained. "My older son is named Edward, we often call him Ed. It would get confusing. Would it be okay if I called you Edwin?" she asked, and he nodded, cursing in his mind for his own stupidity. "Well then, Edwin, you could make the salad" the woman gestured towards the table where the vegetables were put.

Edward was soon doing as she told him, and for a few minutes the kitchen was quiet except for the constant sounds of chopping and the boiling water. Edward was once again lost in his thoughts when he felt his mother's eyes on him. He looked up suddenly to find that she was indeed looking at him, and she blushed.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that you look so similar to my husband that it is very strange for me to see you" she said embarrassed and it was now Edward's turn to be startled. His eyes widened before he could catch himself, and he silently berated himself for reacting like this. Of course he looked like her husband – he was his son.

"My older son takes after him, so you'll see what I mean when he comes home. The younger one looks more like me." She talked on, without noticing his strange reaction.

"And when is your husband coming home?" he asked, knowing that's what a stranger would ask now.

"He's… I don't really know. He has been away for quite a while now" the woman answered quietly. Edward hated to hurt his mother by asking such a question.

"So, Edwin, you said you were a traveling alchemist, right? Anything specific that you are searching for in Rizembool?" his mother asked cheerfully, trying to end the awkward silence that had settled in the room for a few moments after her answer.

"Yes actually" Edward said, thinking about the story he had come up with "I've heard there was a very good Automail maker somewhere in this town"

"Automail? Why would you look for something like that?"

"A train accident in my childhood. Both my right arm and left leg were lost" he answered as vaguely as he could. It was a safe story – no one, even with alchemic knowledge would be quick to connect his profession and missing limbs with Human transmutation without a soul bound to armor by his side. Simple train accidents occurred so much more frequently than forbidden practices of Human Transmutation. Especially ones where the one attempting it would stay alive.

"Oh." She said startled "Erm, well you did hear right. Pinako Rockbell is said to be one of the best in the world. She is a close neighbor; my children often play with her granddaughter, Winry. Actually, they're at her house right now, though they should be back soon" she said as she looked out the window towards the already setting sun "They can show you the way to the house tomorrow, if you'd like."

"That would be marvelous," he said and smiled.

At that moment the front door burst open with a bang, and voices of two children could be heard laughing and shouting at each other. Edward's heart skipped a beat when he heard them bursting into the kitchen and he hesitantly turned to face them.

It was one more bizarre moment to add to his growing list. He was looking at his younger self, who was grinning as though there was not one thing wrong in the world and Alphonse, his _flesh_ and _blood_ brother, seemed just as happy.

"Mom, what's for dinner?" the little Ed asked but trailed off when he saw a stranger in the kitchen. The older Edward was fighting hard not to stare, but the smaller one didn't bother.

'_Who does he/I see when he looks at me?_' Edward thought '_Himself? His father, like his mother does?_'

"Manners, Edward" his mother reprimanded the boy "This is Edwin, he'll be staying with us for a bit so you'd better be on your best behavior, boys." She said sternly.

"Hello Mr. Edwin" Alphonse said, being the more well-mannered of the two. Edward smiled at him.

"This is Alphonse, my younger" Trisha introduced "You can just call him Al. And the older one is, like I said, Edward."

"Call me Ed!" shouted the boy, as he grinned up at Edward.

"You look a whole lot like nii-san." Alphonse spoke shyly once more, looking confusedly between the two of them.

"He looks like father" the younger Ed grumbled, most likely suddenly reminded of his first impression of the guest.

Edward didn't like the direction in which this conversation was going. He didn't want to draw so much attention to his appearance.

"Nii-san doesn't like father" Al explained helpfully, misinterpreting his expression.

"Come on boys, go and wash up. Dinner's ready" Trisha said, shooing the boys towards the bathroom. She didn't seem comfortable talking too much about her husband either.

The dinner was a loud affair, with the boys talking excitedly about their day with Winry. Edward couldn't help but smile, feeling nostalgic.

After dinner ended, the boys settled down with an alchemy book in the corner of the room, whispering quietly between themselves while Edward helped his mother with dishes.

"Sorry, the boys can be a real headache sometimes" she said, handing him another plate.

"It's nothing" he answered, taking it "I used to be the same."

It seemed just like the old times, helping his mother, hearing his brother's voice. Even if there was one two many of 'hims'. However the peaceful mood that enveloped him ended when his mother quietly coughed again, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine" Trisha tried to wave off his worries, but Edward was far from being fooled. He knew what this cough meant even better now, because it reminded him of another cough of another precious person.

_**-flashback-**_

"_You should just propose to her" Edward said, putting his flesh hand around his best friend's shoulders. Alfons was once again looking at Greta as she helped Gracia in her shop._

"_Propose to her?" Alfons repeated, surprised "Please don't kid like that, Edward"_

"_I'm not kidding at all!" Edward grinned mischievously "Just admit it, you're smitten in love with her!"_

_A gentle smile appeared on Alfons' face but was soon gone as he suddenly began coughing into his hand. Edward waited, worried, for the coughing fit to end, only to get even more worried when it did and Alfons spoke._

"_I'm dying, Edward. You know it as well as I do. I wouldn't dream of marrying her only to leave her alone a few years later. She doesn't deserve this." The older man whispered._

"_Don't you think it's a choice she has a right to make herself?" Edward said gently, as he looked seriously at his best friend. "You shouldn't take it from her."_

_**-end of flashback-**_

"Edwin?" his mothers voice woke him up from his memories. "Are _you_ alright?"

"What? Oh yes, sorry, just remembering something" he said, and put the last dry plate in it's place. His mother sighted in content at the finished work, took off her apron, and clapped her hands drawing the attention of the smaller boys.

"Let's move into the sitting room now, shall we?" she said and the boys rose obediently, gathered their books and ran off to the said room, Edward and Trisha following close behind.

The sitting room, like the rest of the house, was just as Edward remembered it being, and he unconsciously moved towards the bookshelf that stood by one of the walls and inspected the familiar titles.

"These books belong to my husband" his mother said as she came to stand near him "He is also an alchemist. That's why the boys are studying it."

"That reminds me, Mrs. Elric" Edward said, knowing he had to ask if he was to keep his false identity "Your husband wouldn't happen to be Hoenheim Elric, would he?"

"You know my husband?" she asked, and Edward cringed inside hearing the hope in her voice. His younger self and Alphonse looked up hearing their mother's voice, Al with curiosity in his eyes and Ed with annoyance.

"He's famous in alchemist circles. That's all" Edward answered and Trisha's shoulders slumped back. "I've heard a lot about him in my journeys."

_This_ seemed to pick up little Ed's interest.

"Are you an Alchemist?"

"Yes I am"

"Then… maybe you could… you know… teach us a bit?" the boy asked, suddenly a little bit shy. Edward forced himself to smile reassuringly.

"I don't know how good of a teacher I can be, but I can certainly explain a few things if you need me to" he said, moving towards the boys, feeling his mother's grateful eyes on his back.

He didn't know how good of a teacher he could be, but he would do his fucking-best to make sure the boys before him wouldn't make the biggest mistake in their lives.

--

**A.N**: This was a bit confusing. I hope you didn't lose yourselves between the two Edwards. Mostly, the older Edward was Edward, while the smaller one was Ed. I'm thinking of maybe using Edwin for Edward in the next few chapters to avoid confusion while little Ed is around so much. Tell me what you think xD.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope to hear a few opinions on this ;). Please feel free to point put any mistakes you notice as well, though I guess there are so many of them it would take time… Ah well…


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Never did, never will. Own that is.

**A.N:** Thanks for the reviews. Hope you'll enjoy.

--

**Chapter 2**

_The screams around him finally quieted down a while ago, but still, all Edward could do was to stare at the dead body of his best friend. Alfons' head was bent forward, eyes open and empty. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth and Edward just watched, in shock, as drop after drop of the red liquid fell down to join the stain on the rocket scientist's pants._

_He flinched when a drop of the same liquid fell onto his own shoulder, but didn't look up. He knew what was up there, the scene replaying vividly again and again in his mind. He couldn't help but be surprised that there was still blood that could drip from his father's body - it seemed to him that there had to be nothing left after Hoenheim was bit in half by Envy._

_Suddenly, his attention was drawn by a strange sound behind his back and he whirled around, afraid that someone from the Thules society was still alive. But the one making the noise was none other than his blond friend's fiancé. For some reason she must have crawled towards the array in the middle of which Edward stood, and was now pushing his travel bag into it._

"_Greta?" he asked in wonder. He thought she had been killed with the others, when the array –which he now _**saw**_ was not the way it was supposed to be – was activated and killed everyone outside it, inside the room. He couldn't even decide how to react to the fact that the girl was still alive – if Eckhart was to be believed, she was the one who betrayed them._

"_I was half in the array, when your father died" she explained, and it seemed that it took most of her strength to do that. "You should take the bag before going, I was afraid you'd forget it. I've put a letter inside. It should explain everything."_

"_What?" Edward asked stupidly, before suddenly he was able to _think_ again, and it didn't matter anymore if she had betrayed them – which she couldn't have, Edward shouldn't even consider the possibility of that being true. She was his friend, and she was the only one left alive. He knelt down by her side and reached down to carefully roll her onto her back, but she shook her head._

"_Leave me here Edward. I'm almost dead anyway."_

"_No, that's not true." He shook his head in denial, but she just smiled sadly at him._

"_I lost too much blood, My Dreamer." She said, using her nickname for him. And only then did Edward see the big pool of blood around her and the wound in her stomach._

"_This is what I chose for myself, for all of us, whether you like it or not." She whispered, and Edward saw her struggle to keep her eyes open. "Please read the letter and go home, My Dreamer. You should know how to change the array for it to work properly. We cleared the path for you to go back to the world you dream of. Let me go to my own dreams now."_

_As she said the last words, her eyes finally fluttered shut, and Edward was truly alone then._

--

Edward woke suddenly, his sleeping clothes drenched in cold sweat. He should have expected such dreams, but his evening felt so much like a dream that it made him almost forget the nightmare of a day he had before it.

He raised his hand to brush away his hair from his face, but after it touched his face he flinched, startled. It wasn't only sweat, he realized, there were tears as well. Tears for the friends who hadn't betrayed him – at least not in the way he thought at first. But it was easier to think they did, at least for now. Just as much as it was easier to hate his father, and not grieve for him.

Edward looked towards the letter that he took out from his bag yesterday evening while searching for his sleeping clothes. It was put on the bedside table, with bloody fingerprints on it – his fingers weren't exactly clean the first time he read it. He almost reached out to take it and read through it one more time, to make sure he understood everything right the first time, but he ignored the need. If the light coming from outside was any indication then there was no time for that now.

Edward dressed himself hurriedly, and after a visit to the bathroom he stepped into the kitchen, where his mother was already making breakfast.

"Good morning, Edwin," she said cheerfully, and Edward flinched internally when he heard the fake name.

'_But I might as well get used to it. Get used to all of this.'_

"Good morning, Trisha." He said back.

"Sleep well?"

"Yes" He lied, but his mother seemed to be in a too good of a mood to take notice of that. "Anything I can help with?" he asked, gesturing at the table, which was already set for breakfast.

"No, no, I'm almost done" the woman answered filling the last glass on the table with milk. "I should wake the boys up. They will be taking you to the Rockbell's today" she said.

"Actually, about that..." Edwin interrupted carefully "I was wondering about something. The construction of Automail takes time, and I was kind of wondering if I should try to find a room for myself in that inn you have mentioned before, or if it would be alright if I stayed here for a while? I don't want to trouble you but…"

"Oh nonsense" Trisha laughed "Of course you can stay. Especially if you would continue teach the children. They were so happy yesterday."

"Yes, of course I would." Edwin agreed, perhaps a bit too quickly, but he was relieved. He wanted to spend as much time with his family as possible, even if they didn't know who he was.

"That's settled then." Trisha smiled, and went off to wake up the children. Soon all four of them were sitting in their places and eating just as loud as yesterday. It was incredibly strange for Edwin to see his younger self, and he found himself almost staring at the pace Ed was shoveling his food into his mouth.

'_Did I really always eat so fast?_' he marveled in his mind, looking, disbelieving, at the empty plate which had held Ed's third portion just a second ago.

"Finished" Ed shouted and jumped away from the table, most likely ready to run and sneak a peak at some alchemy book before they went to Winry's. But he was stopped before he could even set one foot outside the kitchen.

"Edward" his mother said sternly and the two Edwards in the room gulped unconsciously. They both knew that tone. "The milk" Trisha ended and gestured at the still full glass on the table. Ed made a face.

"It's cow juice!" he whined.

"Edward Elric, if you don't drink that milk this instant, I swear you'll never grow any taller! _And_ you'll be washing dishes for the rest of the week" the mother said unrelenting.

Ed slinked back to the table and stared at the glass with a distasteful expression on his face. Edwin found himself doing the same to his own glass.

"Edwin-nii-chan?" whispered Alphonse shyly from where he sat on Edwin's right. Hearing Alphonse call him nii-chan made him forget about his dilemma, but only for a second "You don't like milk either?"

Hearing this, his younger self raised his eyes to look hopefully at him, and Edwin knew what he was thinking. If the guest didn't drink his milk, it might just give him an excuse not to drink it either. Edwin was sorely tempted to just answer 'yes' and leave the glass of milk untouched, but… He sneaked a glance at his mother and cringed. Figures the first time she would act like a mother towards him would be to give him a disapproving look. He sighed and took his glass into his hand.

'_It's just milk_' he told himself. '_There's nothing really bad about a little bit of cow-juice, is there?_'

He cringed again, but forced himself to drink anyway.

Edward sighted, disappointed and eyed his own glass again. Edwin looked at his mother and relaxed. That pleased look on her face made it all worth it.

Now to wash his mouth out in the bathroom...

--

The journey to "Rockbell's Automail" was uneventful. The younger boys were walking a little bit ahead of him, and he heard them talking excitedly about the prank they were thinking of pulling off on Winry. It seemed that Edward was still annoyed by the morning's events, and the prank involved, unsurprisingly, milk. Edwin vaguely remembered doing something like that and Winry making him drink a whole bottle of milk in revenge. He shuddered.

Ed was the one making most of the planning, he noted as he looked at the boys. That was exactly as he remembered – Al rarely initiated any pranks, he was just too nice for that. But he adored his older brother and followed him everywhere he went. It was this relationship that led them to the Human Transmutation: Ed was used to getting what he wanted and Al was used to doing whatever Ed asked him to do.

"This is it!" Al suddenly shouted back at him, pointing ahead, and Edwin saw that they were indeed near their destination – a yellow, two-storey house, with a huge sign that read 'AUTOMAIL' beside it. A blonde head disappeared from one the windows and a moment later the door of the house opened to reveal a young blonde girl. She ran excitedly towards the two boys.

"Al, Ed, you came!" she almost squealed in excitement.

"We were here just yesterday, Winry." Ed said arrogantly, effectively squashing the girl's mood.

"You're so mean, Ed! And here I was waiting for you!" she pouted angrily and Edwin almost expected her to extract a wrench from thin air and start hitting the blonde boy on the head. She didn't though, and Edwin remembered that she didn't develop that habit until later. A_little_later.

"Anyway, Win, we've brought you a customer" Ed said ignoring her pout and pointing at Edwin with his thumb over his shoulder. Winry looked at the 'customer' curiously and then approached him hesitantly.

"Hello" she said, suddenly shy "I'm Winry. My granny makes the Automail. Shall I take you to her?" she asked politely and Edwin smiled down at her.

"That would be great, Winry" he said, and the girl grinned, regaining her courage after seeing that the strange man wasn't scary at all. She gestured for him to follow her.

"I'm learning to be an Automail maker myself." She proclaimed, proud of herself. "I'm going to be as good as granny is, one day. And you can come to me then, and I'll check your Automail for you!"

"I'm sure you're going to do great" he said, and she grinned even wider as she opened the door and led him inside.

"But I won't make you a discount" she said, suddenly serious. "Because granny says to never give discounts."

"Damn right, I do." Said a grumpy voice and the familiar figure of Pinako Rockbell appeared in front of her. She looked him up and down and puffed at her pipe "So don't expect one, shrimp."

Something in Edwin's head snapped. He was sure as hell no longer a shrimp. Hell, he could bet he would even be able to look at Mustang without tilting his head up. Too much.

"Who are you calling a shrimp, you overgrown mushroom of a woman!?" he yelled, instinct taking over, as he seethed inside. But as suddenly as the anger had come, it left, and Edwin clapped his hand over his mouth, mortified by what he just said. Yelling at the old neighbor whom he knew since being a baby was one thing. Yelling at her when she didn't even know him was another. And she was supposed to make him Automail…

His worries were unfounded however, as he heard her begin to laugh.

"Oh, so this lad's got spirit!" the old mechanic cackled and turned to walk to her work-room. "I already like you, kid" she muttered and Edwin could only follow her. Before doing so he looked back and found his younger self staring at him with what looked like a new-found respect in his eyes.

"Sit" the old woman ordered as he entered behind her with Winry in tow. The two boys stayed behind. Edwin remembered that neither he nor Al had ever been allowed into the work-room when there was a customer inside. Winry, on the other hand, was indeed already studying under Pinako. She was as much a prodigy as Edwin was, only in a totally different field.

He put down the bag he had brought with himself (which now held only a few things) and did as he was told.

"So, what are you missing? An arm? A leg? Brains?" the old woman inquired as he looked him over again.

"How the hell do you keep any customers if you treat all of them like this, old hag?" Edwin asked irritated, but honestly curious as well.

"Are you leaving?" the old woman asked, suddenly.

"Erm... No."

"Well then, here you go. I've kept you as a customer, haven't I?" she stated. "Besides, who told you I treat all of them like this? Didn't I tell you I like you?" she asked and he stared at her in disbelief. She, however, grew impatient of his staring pretty quickly "So are you going to tell me what do you want, or are you just going to sit there all day?"

"Why you..." Edwin seethed, but managed to take himself under control quite soon. He silently took off his gloves, and then his black shirt, revealing the prosthetics.

"I got into an accident when I was a kid, and lost both my right arm and my left leg" he said. It was weird telling this to someone who should already know everything very well. "I'd gotten Automail almost immediately after that, but a few years ago it broke, and my Automail-maker was… no longer available. My father came up with this for the time being. It served okay for a while, but it's nothing like Automail. So here I am." He finished, and Pinako moved to inspect the offered arm.

"This is pretty good for amateur work. Your father must be a very intelligent man to come up with something like this by himself." The old woman muttered, as she looked at Hoenheim's work.

"He died." Edwin said and Pinako only raised her eyebrow, but kept silent. She continued to examine his arm, moving to the Automail ports now.

"My parents died too. A year ago" Winry offered quietly from where she stood in the corner, observing the happenings. "I miss them."

"I'm sorry to hear that" he said, but anything else he might have wanted to say was cut off as Pinako finished her examination.

"I suppose I can't tell for sure without removing the prosthetics first, but as far as I see the port is not damaged. It's good work, something I would have come up with myself" she said arrogantly. She never avoided praising her own skills. "We should get the measurements done and begin working on the Automail itself before removing the prosthetics. That way if the ports are damaged after all, you wouldn't have to stay with nothing for long. Now show me that leg, I need to see if it's in the same condition."

She hummed as she inspected his leg port, and looked thoughtful after she finished.

"This really is similar to my work" she muttered and Edwin gulped, suddenly nervous. "What did you say was the name of your old Automail-maker?"

"I didn't say."

"Oh" she raised her eyebrows again "Mysterious little pipsqueak, aren't you?"

"Pipsqueak? I'm four times your height, you wrinkled old carrot!" Edwin raged again and fumed even more when he was ignored.

"Well then, we should get your measurements down I guess" she said, turning to her equipment. "You will be able to pay for this, won't you? These things aren't cheap." She inquired.

"I don't travel with much cash, but I have some jewelry to sell. As long as there's someone here to buy it, I'm more than able to pay."

What he said was truth. He had some expensive jewelry in his travel bag – his father told him to always have that bag prepared in case of emergency. And local currency wouldn't have been any good to keep, the way the economy was unstable in the other world after the war.

"Then you should go to Stewarts'. His is the next house straight east from here. Red house, black roof. Just follow the road. Can't miss it." She said and proceeded with the measurements.

--

After leaving the two boys at Rockbell's and telling them that he'll come home by himself, Edwin set out to visit the old man Stewarts. He faintly remembered him as the guy who would come over for dinner from time to time with his strict, plump wife. He was the man who'd always have interesting stories to tell, something that he had to thank his profession for, as he was a traveling merchant. For a small and spread-out town like Rizembool he was needed very much – he brought whatever anyone needed from wherever anyone needed and was often the one to bring back the news of the outside world.

When Edwin was a kid, he never really appreciated Stewards as anything more than a storyteller, but now he felt very thankful for his existence. Without counting the jewelry, he was very much broke. And without a buyer for it, he was broke even _with_ the jewelry. He would be able to earn some money with his alchemy, but it would be nowhere near the amount needed for the Automail.

He quickly reached the merchant's house, and it was indeed a big red house with a black roof. He knocked a couple of times and had to wait a minute before the door was opened by the same man Edwin remembered telling him all the stories.

"Hello there, young man" The man said, pleasantly. "Anything I can help you with?"

"I was told a merchant lived here."

"Ya, that would be me." The merchant answered. "You should come in if you want to talk business."

--

Edwin made a better deal than he had hoped, and it was most likely because he repaired the man's wife's favorite vase that the poor fellow broke just a few minutes before Edwin came over. He seemed terrified of his spouse as she glared at him for that, but she calmed down instantly after the vase was whole again.

After his business with Stewarts was done, Edwin found himself wandering around the town, taking in the familiar sights. Before long he was startled to see that his feet brought him to the cemetery where his mother had been buried. Would be buried, he corrected himself. This is something he shouldn't even _try_ to change. Not anymore.

The big tree, that was just beside the slot where his mother's gravestone had been, was just as he remembered. It was one of the things that were so old already that a few years more or less didn't really make that much of a difference. Old hag Pinako was a bit like that as well, Edwin mused.

Such things brought him comfort, making him believe in what was happening, and making his resolve to change things stronger.

He stood by the tree for a long time, just thinking about things, making plans, before he suddenly noticed that the sun had long since began it's journey back towards horizon.

He came home to find his mother in the kitchen once again, making food. He offered his help to her and she gestured towards the vegetables again.

"So how was your day? Everything alright with the Automail? You came back quite late." She asked after they both settled into a rhythm as they worked.

"Everything was alright. I just had to do some business with the merchant and then I just sort of wandered around town. It's very peaceful here."

"Yes it is" Trisha answered, as her face took on a dreamy expression "Hoenheim always said that in all his travels he never saw a town more peaceful." She fell silent for a few moments, but then shook herself out of it "So you met old Stewarts? How is he?"

"Terrified of his wife" Edwin answered lightly, and Trisha laughed.

"Yes, he certainly is that. Maybe I should invite them over sometime soon again…" she mused to herself.

After that they fell into a comfortable silence as they prepared the food and waited for the boys to come back. When they did, surprisingly it was Al who was making most of the noise.

"Mom!" he shouted as he almost fell into the kitchen, laughing "Winry made Ed drink a whole bottle of milk!" he stated and started giggling again. Edwin almost crawled into the kitchen and Trisha chuckled. Edwin, on the other hand, could sympathize with the suffering boy.

"Eugh, I think I'm going to be sick" the pale boy muttered as he sat down by the table and let his head fall onto his arms. "I can't believe you still invited Winry to your birthday after that, Al! You traitor."

"Birthday?" Edwin asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes." Al grinned "Only a week's left and Mom said I could celebrate it with Winry and grandma Pinako. I'm going to be nine" he stated proudly.

"Oh." Edwin said, a bit stupidly, as he did the math. He had already figured out the approximate date before, using the small clues he'd gotten (such as Winry's mention of her parents' deaths), but it was still great to get the exact date finally.

"Are you going to be there too, Edwin-nii-chan?" Al asked hopefully. Ed raised his head and Trisha turned to look at Edwin as well, waiting for his answer.

"Most likely" he answered "The old..." here he glanced at his mother "...woman Rockbell said that making the Automail would take about a week."

"That's great!" His mother stated happily. "The more the merrier. It means that more people get to enjoy the cake!"

"Yay, cake!" Ed shouted, the milk he had consumed suddenly forgotten.

As the boys chattered happily about the celebration and Trisha finished making dinner, all Edwin could think about was that it's going to be great to see Al able to taste his own birthday cake again.

--

**A.N:** I'm becoming more and more scared that I'll lose readers simply because there is no action for so long... But I'm afraid these chapters are inevitable, and there is still a long way to go before the action begins... sighs. Still, I hope this was at least a bit interesting...

Reviews will be loved and cherished xD


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Me not own. You not sue.

**A.****N: **As always, big thanks for the reviewers. You don't know just how much they help me write. And thanks even to those who just put the story on their alert lists and favorites without reviewing – even this is a very good way to get me to write more xD. I just need to know that someone is reading this and them I'll continue. Of course, reviewing is even better hint, hint XD

Now, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. Not much action in this one either, I fear. But it should get a little bit more interesting after this one xD. I promise.

--

**Chapter 3**

_He was quiet as he sneaked in to stand in the doorway. But he had no illusions that his presence went unnoticed, even if the other occupant of the room was facing the other way. He stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest for a few minutes, simply observing, but was soon tired of being ignored._

"_How long are you staying?" he asked, careful not to let his feelings about the matter slip into his voice._

"_A day, maybe two" his father answered, without stopping his unpacking, "I came to see if Greta settled down okay and, of course, see how you were doing."_

"_I'm fine." Ed answered dismissively._

"_I'm glad to hear that" Hoenheim said, finally turning to face him. "How's your research going?"_

"_We've got a new sponsorship offer. Alfons is very excited. He thinks that maybe he will be able to see his rockets fly off with his own eyes after all. He had almost given up hope that he would finish them before…" Edward trailed of, not needing to finish the sentence. There was a moment of silence in which the old alchemist observed his son. Edward began to feel slightly uncomfortable._

"_It seems to me that he's not the only one that has given up hope to see his dream come true." His father prodded gently._

"_He's not." Edward said, "And I don't think _I'm_ regaining it any time soon."_

--

'_At least it wasn't a nightmare, like last night_.' Edwin reasoned with himself, but still could not stop the sigh of annoyance from escaping his lips.

He had woken up after another dream about his past about half an hour ago, and was still staring at the ceiling unable to fall back to sleep. Unlike yesterday he woke up before the sun had even risen, and from what he could see it was still at least an hour until that was going to happen.

He huffed and turned to lie on his side trying to find a more comfortable position, but despite all his efforts his eyes refused to stay closed for a longer period of time. They wandered around the starlit room, until finally settling down on his bedside table. Or more specifically, on the letter that he had put on it not two days previous.

Frustrated, he suddenly sat up and dragged his feet down from the bed, the last bit of drowsiness disappearing as his feet hit the cool floor. If he wasn't going to fall asleep, there was no sense in just lying around. He raised his hand a bit, hesitated for a few seconds before uncertainly reaching for the letter. He wanted to do this yesterday already. He might as well reread it today. Decision made he turned on the light and unfolded the paper.

_My dear Dreamer,_

_If you are reading this letter then I am most likely already dead. Goodness, does that sound cliché! But I guess in this situation it is only appropriate._

_But this is not all, is it? If everything goes according to the plan and you really are reading this letter then that means your father and Alfons are dead as well. Not only that, but you are most likely wondering why did we betray you. Well, we didn't. At least not the way you must now believe we did. But let us start at the beginning._

_As you well know I was sent to you by your father, mostly for my own protection from the Thule Society as I left their circle against their will. In gratitude, I've kept in contact with Mr. Elric through my whole stay with you and Alfons. I must have earned your father's trust somewhere along the way and soon he told me about his plan to get you to your own world. Remember how much I used to tease you about the stories you would sometimes tell? Then you can imagine my surprise when I found out you haven't just dreamt them up._

_At first Mr. Elric told me his plan simply because he wanted someone to talk to about it, but…_

_Edward, you know how much I love Alfons. The day he proposed to me was the best day of my life. However, it recently became apparent that he won't live until our wedding day. We didn't tell you, but he has no more than a couple of days left._

_I can't imagine my life without Alfons, Edward, and I wrote to your father as much. I didn't want to live without him and so I chose to die for the sake of you going home instead. Your father tried everything he could to talk me out of this, but I didn't give him much choice. I knew this was the only way the plan would work, and by doing so I would both make your dream come true and stay with Alfons even after he was dead._

_To make the story short, the plan was for me to contact the Thule Society again and offer to spy on you for them. Your father had told them you were the only one who knew the design of the array that could connect the two worlds. I was to find it out from you. This was so that the Thule would know that your intervention was inevitable._

_After that, your father supplied me with a design of a fake array. One that instead of connecting the worlds would kill anyone outside of it._

_Everything is ready now. Tomorrow the Thule Society will try to activate the array, only to realize they can't do it without you. That's where Alfons comes in – he is to make sure you arrive in time. _

_Alfons was very reluctant to agree to do this. He loves me so, he hates the thought of me dying just to be with him. But, just like with your father, I didn't give him much choice._

_The plan is risky, there are so many holes, so many things that rely solely on luck. But we decided to do it, and we will. I just hope we succeed._

_Do not blame yourself for any of this. We have all decided to give up our lives on our free will. We decided to do this for you, so please respect our will._

_We all love you, My Dreamer. Live without any regrets._

_Farewell_

_Greta_

As the paper slid out of his suddenly numb fingers onto the ground, Edwin cried, for the first time fully understanding what he had lost.

_--_

The days flowed in harmony as Edwin was waiting for the Automail to be finished. In a couple of days he and his unknowing family settled into routine. Edwin would help Trisha with her housework as much as he could and spend the rest of his time helping the little boys learn alchemy. It was challenging, to say the least, and not only because Edwin never tutored anyone in alchemy before, but mostly because of _who_ he was teaching. However, he seemed to do more than okay, since the boys started to spend less and less time at Winry's (much to the disappointment of the little girl) and more with their new 'sensei'. They seemed to want to learn as much as possible before the older man had to leave.

Trisha seemed to be happy that the boys found such a good teacher and encouraged their interest in the subject as much as she could. She seemed to be taking to him as much as the boys did, thus making Edwin very happy. He was becoming more and more used to what happened to him and was now able to look at his younger self as if he were just another younger brother.

Sometimes he would get worried that he was wasting time staying in Rizembool, that he was being too selfish and that he should already be doing something about the homunculi. But he would soon shake such thoughts off. Firstly, he knew he couldn't go anywhere before his Automail was finished. Secondly, he knew that stopping the two younger boys from making an attempt at human transmutation was as much a goal in his mind as taking care of the homunculi was.

He sometimes wondered how he would be able to pull that off if he was to leave after the week was up. But he decided to worry about that when the time came and concentrated solely on tutoring the boys for the time being.

Unfortunately, the time flew by very fast and before Edwin knew it, he was helping Trisha to prepare for Al's birthday party in the kitchen. The boys were spending the day at Rockbell's before the party which was to take place in the evening.

The guest list was very short, but it seemed to Edwin that his mother was doing her best to prepare ten times the food that was actually needed. Nevertheless, he helped her without saying a word about it. He enjoyed spending time with her, even in complete silence. When it was silent, she wouldn't say anything that would remind Edwin that she didn't know who he was, and he could pretend.

Time and time again Edwin would wonder if he should tell her. But at the last moment he would always chicken out. He feared she wouldn't believe him. And even more he feared that she would, because that meant she would ask questions. Questions he didn't want to answer because he knew she would be disappointed about the choices he made in his life. He was a sinner. His selfishness cost his younger brother his body, and even after that Edwin put Al in danger so many times… Moreover, he was a dog of the military.

"Ouch!" he yelled suddenly and swore under his breath as the knife he was using slipped when he became frustrated because of his thoughts.

"Oh dear!" Trisha gasped as she saw the blood, hurrying to the first aid kit. "Here, let me see." She said and proceeded to tend to his wound. Gently as only she could she put the band-aid on his finger and kissed it better on instinct.

"Here, it's all better now, isn't it? You should be more careful." She said as she smiled and put the first aid kit back.

"Thank you." He said feeling dazed. Every time she would act as a mother towards him he would end up feeling overwhelmed by emotions. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice and quietly continued whatever it was she was doing before Edwin cut himself.

The peaceful silence did not last however, as Edwin was once again startled from his thoughts by his mother starting to cough. Worried, he observed her as she tried to recover and decided he couldn't keep quiet about it any longer. Taking the knife into his hands one more, he continued his own work and asked in the most nonchalant voice that he could manage:

"How bad are you ill?"

Trisha was startled and turned to look at him with confused wide eyes before calming down. She chuckled sadly and it was Edwin's turn to be confused.

"Figures a stranger would find out about my illness after I managed to hide it from all of my loved ones" she said and Edwin felt a stab of pain after being called a 'stranger' by his own mother, but tried to ignore it.

"I'm sorry. It's not my place to ask. I must have made you uncomfortable" Edwin hurried to apologize but was cut off.

"No, it's not that. Actually, I can't exactly call you stranger after living with you for almost a week now, can I? The boys have got used to you as well…" she continued still smiling that sad smile "And there's something about you… I feel this strange pull towards you… it's so familiar and at the same time so very confusing" her face suddenly took up a faraway expression and Edwin felt his heart start to beat faster after her words.

"I'm rambling, aren't I?" Trisha laughed, but sobered up almost immediately. "You're right, I'm ill. I actually don't think I have more than a year left."

Edwin drew a sharp breath. It was no news for him, of course, but hearing Trisha say it herself was still a shock.

"Is there nothing that can be done?" he asked in a whisper, needing to hear that, so that he wouldn't even start to hope.

"There is nothing" Trisha answered, and an uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

"Why don't you tell the boys? They should get ready for this." Edwin asked finally, trying to keep the accusation out of his voice.

"I shouldn't burden them with this yet…"

"They have a right to know!" Edwin shouted, cutting her of. Trisha looked at him with wide eyes, shocked at his outburst. But Edwin continued "Believe me, they would want to. I have been in a situation just like this, so I would know."

He was feeling overwhelmed by sudden anger and other emotions. Memories flooded over him but he just talked on.

"It is very painful to lose someone. I don't think I need to tell you that. But for alchemists, especially young ones like your sons, it's not only painful, it's also dangerous" he spoke, and looked into his mother's eyes, trying to make sure she would understand. "They are young, and inexperienced, and they think they are smarter than everyone else in the world. Especially Edward. They might not be able to resist the temptation. The temptation to break the biggest taboo in alchemy."

He didn't doubt she would understand – all of her family members were immersed in the art, so she certainly knew enough about the subject to realize what he was talking about. He was not disappointed and he heard her gasp after his words.

"They wouldn't do that…" she whispered, but she didn't sound very sure.

"Can you really say that?" Edwin asked, unrelenting. He hated doing this to his mother, even to himself he sounded like a villain. But he also knew he had to make her understand. "There is absolutely no guarantee, and you know that. Especially with your husband gone – there will be no one to guide them after your death. At least, if you tell them now they might be better prepared for what is to come."

He fell silent and she didn't talk either. She was looking away from him now, and with a pang Edwin realized she was most likely crying silently.

"Would you… would you guide them?" she asked. Her voice suddenly full of hope and she raised her tear-full eyes at him again. "Would you stay? You said you were traveling without any concrete goal in mind, so could you stay for a while and guide them? They trust you now. If you would stay, maybe they wouldn't feel the need to…"

Edwin hesitated. She was giving the exact opportunity that he had been craving for – he could stay near all three of them and would be able to stop the boys if the need arose. However he suddenly felt apprehensive. To stay with a family that didn't know who he was suddenly felt like a very difficult thing to do.

"You would still need to tell them" he began, hesitantly. She nodded, resigned.

"Not today though. It's Al's big day after all. Give me a little bit more time."

"Don't hesitate too much. But I will stay. I can't make any promises now, but for the while I will stay and at the very least, I will try to talk with them about it."

"Thank you." She said, from her heart. But something told Edwin he didn't deserve her gratitude. Not yet.

--

After everything calmed down after Al's birthday party and Edwin finally got his Automail, the days fell back into the relaxed rhythm they were going in before. The boys were overjoyed when they found out that Edwin was staying, although Ed made an effort of not letting it show on his face. The boy was as proud as Edwin remembered himself being. And Ed was still innocent, not compelled to become an adult yet, just like Al was. Edwin swore he would protect that.

But as the week passed, Trisha still hadn't told the children about her illness. She hesitated, and Edwin hated the thought of rushing her even though he knew she'd better do it sooner rather than later.

Edwin himself felt uneasy. He felt as if he had forgotten something. That he had to do something of big importance, and he didn't even know what it was. That something always stayed beyond his reach, however, and it took a month and a guest for him to remember.

"Sorry for intruding." Mrs. Stewarts said as she entered the kitchen. It was the second time after Edwin's arrival that Trisha invited the merchant and his wife for a dinner, and this time, it seems, the merchant himself was away on business and only the wife could come.

"It's wonderful that you could come, Margaret." Trisha greeted her. "And you know you're not intruding. Especially when you bring that famous cake of yours with you." She joked, and put the said cake on the table.

The dinner was a strange affair, as nobody was used to Mrs. Stewarts coming to visit without her husband. Actually, now that he thought about it, Edwin _remembered_ this visit as the only time that she came alone. And if remembered right, it was the time that…

"…Brian said this is going to be a long journey" their guest was saying. "Something about going through a lot of cities. Mariwood, Bringham and others towards the Central, and then he'll go back on some other route, through Welltown, Bregville…

Bregville… Edwin's eyes widened as he heard the name, and he didn't listen any further.

The name of the village reminded him of his own visit there… Of Majhal, and his "dead" lover Karin. Of Clouse and her father. And now, of Stewarts' words after he came back from this very journey:

"…_was surprised, you can bet, to hear that old Hoenheim was there for a while. Pity he left a week before I arrived. Would have loved to have a few words with him about abandoning his family…"_

People around him talked on and didn't notice as a smile found it's way onto Edwin's face. It seemed like he could remember what that something was in time after all.

--

"I'm leaving today" he said, and the noise seemed to cease all at once. Trisha looked at him with a desperate look and Edwin could already see the tears gathering in Al's eyes. "Not permanently." He added hurriedly. "Just for a few weeks. I have almost forgotten, but there are a few things I have to take care of."

"Do you really have to?" Alphonse asked, sullenly. Both of the boys have got really used to Edwin-nii-chan by now. Edwin just nodded.

"Don't worry, I told you I'd be back soon." He reassured them. "Actually, I have to go very soon if I want to be in time for the train. And boys, didn't you say you'd go to Winry's today? I'm sure she had missed you; you haven't spent much time with her lately."

"But…" Ed began, but Edwin cut him off.

"I have a few things I have to discuss with your mom before I leave." He explained, and the boys reluctantly nodded and got up. They went towards the door and were almost out before Al stopped suddenly. He seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds but soon he turned back, went to Edwin and hugged him.

"Promise you'll be back soon?" he asked.

"I promise." Edwin said and ruffled the boy's hair. Edward only nodded at his older self and soon left with his younger brother.

Finally alone with his mother Edwin went straight to the point.

"I'm sorry for leaving you right now, I know your illness has progressed." He said carefully choosing his words. The woman turned her eyes away guiltily, as if sensing where this was going. "But I think this will be a good opportunity to tell the boys about it finally, without me to get in the way."

"You don't get in the way…" Trisha started, hurrying to reassure him, but Edwin just waved it off.

"It's still better if you'd be able to be alone with the boys for a while after telling." He said "I don't know exactly for how long I'm going to be gone. But I hope it will be long enough for them to calm down."

Trisha only nodded, solemnly.

"I really have to going now. Take care."

"You too" Trisha said and Edwin walked out of the house.

He hoped, no, he knew that if he hurried, he would be able to meet his father. And after that… Edwin didn't know exactly what he was going to door say, but he knew that the task of stopping Ed and Al won't be only his problem anymore.

--

**A.****N:** Goodness, do I suck at thinking up town names… If anyone has any suggestions of what to change them into, feel free to share them with me.

Oh, and as far as I know, the name of Majhal's village was never given officiallly. Or at least I couldn't find it no matter how much I looked

Reviews will be adored and idolized xD


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't claim FMA.

**A.N:** As always, thanks so much to the ones who reviewed. It was the reviews that made me update this soon. Of course, it helped that this chapter was really fun to write. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it xD

--

**Chapter 4**

The train ride towards Bregville didn't even take a day, and so for Edwin, who was used to traveling by train for days at an end in both worlds, the journey seemed to go by quite fast. Especially since he had things to think about.

In his excitement he left Rizembool without actually thinking what he was going to do, but now that he had time to think, he suddenly realized he didn't even know how he was going to approach his father. What he did know was that he needed his father's help.

In the other world he had the opportunity to get to know his father and managed to little by little get rid of the hate he used to feel towards him. Moreover, he knew that his father was a very intelligent person, a talented alchemist and that he loved his family enough to sacrifice his life for the happiness of even one member of it. He proved as much in the end.

These things were what led Edwin to believe that if Hoenheim were to learn about Trisha's condition he would most likely agree to come home. Especially if he learned about what his children were going to do after that as well.

This was one of the thoughts that didn't leave Edwin alone. The idea of telling his father who he really was seemed extremely tempting. Edwin knew his father wouldn't judge him for the things he had done, since he had made similar and even worse mistakes himself. Moreover, he had seen the gate and knew enough about alchemy so that Edwin was quite sure about his ability to make his father believe his story.

And so, when Edwin got out of the train and got into the carriage for the even shorter but much more uncomfortable ride to Bregville itself, he was still undecided.

'_But_' he mused, as he let a smile slip onto his face since there was nobody to see it in the empty carriage '_I have never been good at thinking things out. I'm much better at thinking at the spot or simply acting without thinking at all'_

When the town finally came into view, Edwin saw that it wasn't any different from what it will be in two years. He frowned. It sounded weird, even in his own head. He should stop trying to make sense of these things.

It was already late as he entered the town, but he had no problems renting a room at the local inn. The innkeeper was a pleasant elderly man, that didn't seem to mind at all that a guest came in at such an ungodly hour. More so, he was still awake enough to inquire what brought Edwin to visit their town. Edwin chose his words carefully. This was a good opportunity to get information and at the same time, he had to be careful not to sound suspicious.

"I heard there's a good alchemist living in this town." He finally settled on saying.

"Ah yes, old Majhal. He's done so much good to our town… And why would you want to meet him? Could it be that you're an alchemist too?" the innkeeper seemed genuinely interested.

"Why yes, I am." Edwin saw no harm in admitting to it.

"What a strange coincidence!" the man exclaimed suddenly "Another alchemist came here just a few days ago, saying he had come to visit old Majhal as well."

"Really?" Edwin asked, his heart starting to beat fast, but he tried to not let the man see how much the news affected him. "And did he see him?"

"Yes, yes. He would go to Majhal's house every day and discuss something with him. He just came back to the inn something like an hour ago, but he's most likely asleep by now. He has a room next to yours, so you might meet him tomorrow morning if you're interested" the innkeeper talked on, and Edwin let himself relax, hearing that his father was still in town. "But he wakes up quite early, so if you want to catch him before he goes out, you should go to sleep yourself, I suppose."

"Yes, I think I will do just that" Edwin nodded his thanks to the man, took his key and went to find his room.

He stopped for a moment in front of the door of the room next to his own, entertaining the thought of waking up his father and talking to him right now, but as he stifled a yawn he had to reject the idea. He needed to be more awake if he was going to try and prove to Hoenheim that he was his son. Moreover, he didn't think the older alchemist would thank him for waking him in the middle of the night to tell impossible stories.

Tomorrow morning will have to do.

--

As hard as it was after a late night, Edwin forced himself to get up at the break of dawn. Hurriedly going through his morning routine, he stepped out of his room still only half awake and so he shouldn't have been surprised when he almost ran into someone a few steps out if it.

"I'm terribly sorry" he said, forcibly keeping his eyes open and raising them to look at whoever it was he almost knocked over. When he finally took in the appearance of the one in front of him, however, all thoughts of sleep left him at once.

It seems it was a good idea to wake up so early after all, as the one in front of him was none other than his own father.

"Don't worry about it, kid." Hoenheim said back to him and Edwin stopped himself from lashing out in anger with great difficulty. Something told him it wasn't a good idea right now. "You must be going to breakfast as well, aren't you?" the blond man asked, politely and Edwin nodded, still not sure as to what to say now. "Let's go together then."

They stepped into the eating area of the inn together and Edwin was startled to see the man from yesterday already preparing something to eat for them. Doesn't he ever sleep?

"Ah, good morning Mr. Heiderich. I see you've met up with Mr. Elric just fine." He said pleasantly after nodding a greeting at Edwin's father.

"Met with me?" Hoenheim repeated confused.

"Mr. Heiderich came in yesterday with the intention of visiting old Majhal, and when I mentioned that another alchemist came in with the same intentions recently he seemed interested in meeting with you, Mr. Elric." The innkeeper explained before Edwin could even open his mouth. The man was already putting down plates of food in front of them as they were still only sitting down. Edwin marveled at the pace the elder man was moving around.

"Well then, I shall leave you to your conversation, shall I?" he asked, and neither alchemist had a chance to answer before he disappeared behind some door.

"An interesting persona" Hoenheim muttered, amused "I've lived here for almost a week already and I still haven't got used to his way of going about." He continued, before turning to look at Edwin. "So how can I help you?"

Now that the opportunity to talk with his father came, Edwin didn't hesitate even for a moment before going straight to the point.

"Actually, it wasn't Majhal I wanted to meet at all." He began. "I actually came here hoping to meet with you, Hoenheim of Light."

"Me? And moreover, you know my name?" Hoenheim's voice was full of curiosity now, but outwardly he only raised an eyebrow.

"I know quite a bit more than just your name" Edwin continued, looking into his father's eyes. "What I have to say might seem somewhere between 'hard to believe' and 'completely impossible' at first, but I swear it's all true."

Hoenheim frowned and his face took up a completely serious expression after hearing that. Edwin knew he had his father's full attention.

"To start with, I suppose I should tell you some things that would prove to you this is not just some joke. Let's see… I know you're something like four hundred years old. I know about the philosopher's stone you made so many years ago. I know about Dante and your attempt to resurrect your son. I know _you_ know about the gate." Edwin said quickly and Hoenheim tensed and suddenly looked very guarded.

"What do you want? Are you working for Dante?" the Light alchemist asked cautiously, but was not taking any action against Edwin yet.

"I have no intention of ever working for Dante, you can believe in that. And as for your first question… You see, I've seen the gate myself, quite a few times, actually. And the first time I saw it… is two years into the future."

Hoenheim drew in a sharp breath, but didn't look like he rejected the idea of this being true instantly after hearing it.

"I understand how hard to believe this is, and how much like absolute absurd this sounds. But this is the truth. I am actually from… let's see… about nine years into the future." Edwin finished and for a moment Hoenheim just stared at him in silence for a few moments.

"How… How can this be?" he asked, absolutely baffled.

"It's the gate. Or should I say 'The Truth". It sent me into the past in, I suppose, an attempt to give me a way to make some things right." Edwin explained.

"What things?" the older man asked, still not quite recovered from the shock of what he was hearing.

"Oh, there are lots of them. But I have neither the time nor wish to get into that right now. I came here to get you to come home."

"What? Why?"

"Your wife is dying." Edwin said without preamble and Hoenheim's eyes widened. "And after her death your sons will be so distraught and desperate that they will attempt Human Transmutation."

Hoenheim gasped and just stared at Edwin for a few minutes. Edwin could almost see the wheels turning in his head as Hoenheim tried to swallow everything that he was just told. After a while he seemed to calm down a little. He took a few calming breaths and spoke again.

"What I don't understand… Even if everything you told me is the truth and you are really from the future… It doesn't explain why you know so much about my family." He said with a question in his voice.

Edwin took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"That's because I'm your son. I'm Edward."

--

For what seemed like the thousandth time that morning Hoenheim felt all his brain processes come to a halt for a few moments.

What this man in front of him – _Edward?_ – was telling him was something so hard to believe that it was almost ridiculous. But as absurd and illogical as it seemed for him intellectually, something in his heart told him to listen and to believe.

Didn't he marvel at how similar to him the stranger looked the very first moment he saw the man?

Could it be the truth? Is it possible that this man wasn't simply insane, or sent by Dante to lure him into some unknown trap? However, Hoenheim knew the man wasn't Envy even _before_ he used alchemy to straighten out the bent fork that was given to him. It seemed that Edward – was he _really_? – got tired of his silence and decided to make use of the flowing time by starting to eat. Hoenheim noticed the man's – his _son's_? – hands trembling ever so slightly and couldn't help but wonder why he was nervous. Was he afraid that Hoenheim wouldn't believe in his lies? Or that he wouldn't believe the truth? Was he afraid that Hoenheim would see through him and attack him? Was he afraid Hoenheim wouldn't help him set the things he mentioned right?

Hoenheim thought back at what the man said and suddenly felt nauseous. He knew it wasn't only the incredulousness of the situation that made him doubt the man's words. Believing him would mean accepting that everything he said was true and Hoenheim couldn't bear the thought of Trisha dying. And even more… His children… It couldn't be, he told himself. They wouldn't! They would never attempt Human Transmutation.

The stranger suddenly put down the now-straight fork down, seemed to struggle with himself for a bit and then spoke again:

"Her last words… She asked me to make her a ring of flowers, because you used to make them for her all the time."

And that's when Hoenheim knew. There was no denying the truth anymore.

"Edward?"

--

Edwin gave a start when he heard his name leave his father's lips. He looked up and saw that the Light alchemist was looking at him with something akin to wonder in his eyes. He sighed in relief. His father believed him.

"Yes." He said. "And I need your help. I have been staying with mom and Al and… myself for a while now. They don't know who I am of course… But anyway, I realize that I need your help if I want to stop them from attempting Human Transmutation. I have other things I have to do, I can't stay in Rizembool all the time. But if you would stay with them instead, then _you_ could stop them. You could make them understand." Edwin pleaded. He had to make his father understand.

"But Edward…" Hoenheim started but Edwin interrupted.

"It would be better if you just called me Edwin. It's who I am now, after all" he said dejectedly. He couldn't allow himself the pleasure of being called by his real name anymore.

"Edwin then" the older alchemist corrected himself, frowning a bit. "What are these other things? What would be more important to you than your own family?"

"You're not exactly one to talk about not abandoning you family now, are you?" Edwin snapped, accusation seeping into his voice. Hoenheim flinched and Edwin regretted his words instantly. He could understand his father's reasoning by now … kind of. He sighted and continued. "They are not exactly my family anymore, are they?" he said dismally, his heart hurting at his own words.

But they were true, he now understood. This was what The Truth meant when it gave him this opportunity. About losing his relationships. And about this being an opportunity to make things better for others, but about being unable to change anything for himself. Not really. His past was already decided, and nothing could change that.

Edwin inwardly shook his head. This was not the time to dwell on these things.

"The problem is, Dante is plotting." He finally answered his father's question. "She wants to make another philosopher's stone, and she intends to do that through whatever means necessary." He explained, and his father's eyes widened once more.

"Then I should go with you…" he began, but was cut off by Edwin again.

"No you don't. You _have_ to be with Ed and Al. And at the moment, I am the one who understands Dante better. I am the one who knows how to defeat her and her minions better. I have done it once, I can do it again." Edwin said heatedly. "And besides that, there are other, smaller in the global scale things, but things I still have to do. I have to go. And you'll have to stay."

--

It was at this moment that the innkeeper chose to reappear. Feeling obliged to, Hoenheim started to eat his own food, even though he didn't really feel like it. His mind was still reeling and his stomach was still turning at the thought of what was going to happen. Feeling a need for a distraction, he spoke gain.

"How did you know where to find me?" he asked, feeling that the topic was most likely safe.

"I remembered some rumors that Stewarts told us about in the past-future." Hi son explained, without going into detail. Hoenheim nodded, he knew the old merchant quite well in the past. "And why did you come here?" Edwin inquired after a few moments.

"Majhal's someone I have met in my old travels and kept in contact with for quite a while now" he explained. "But lately, his letters became full of questions about my opinion on Human Transmutation. I became worried and came to talk to him about that in person but… He's changed; he's not really listening to me. He came close to ordering me out of his house yesterday when I mentioned that he seemed almost obsessed."

He looked up to look at his son and was surprised to see him nodding thoughtfully.

"This reminds me" Edwin said, still deep in thought. "We can't leave to Rizembool for a bit yet."

"Why is that?"

"One of the things that I need to set right… It happens right here. We have to stop Majhal before his actions start to cause people's deaths."

"Deaths?" Hoenheim gasped, startled. He knew his old friend was obsessed, but he was no murderer. Surely Edwin was mistaken. Hoenheim said as much out loud, but his son only shook his head solemnly.

--

Edwin explained what would happen in as few words as he could. The Light Alchemist listened, fascinated to hear about the future and horrified to hear what it entailed at the same time.

"Then all we have to do is tell Majhal that his lover is still alive, right?" Hoenheim asked when Edwin's story was finished.

"I wish it were that easy." The younger alchemist sighed. "As I've said, last time Majhal didn't want to believe that the old woman and his lover were one and the same. We have to see this through till the end, no matter what that end will be like. I don't want to risk the chance of Clouse losing her sister again."

Hoenheim nodded, understanding.

"Then what do we do?" he asked finally and Edwin bit his lip in thought.

"I suppose you should go visit Majhal once again. Try to talk to him. Hint at the probability that Karin is still alive, ready him for what is to come. Make him understand. Maybe if he's ready, he won't freak out when the time comes." He said finally. "And at the same time I will be trying to find Karin."

--

Finding Karin turned out to be much easier said than done. He wasn't really surprised to find out that nobody in Bregville knew the woman he described. It just meant that he was right and that Karin still hadn't got her memories back. This did, however make his search so much more difficult.

It didn't help that he didn't even know the name by which she lived after losing her memories. He didn't have much to give even for those people who were really trying to help. In the end he settled on going around, asking if anyone heard about someone losing their memories about eighteen years ago.

To his surprise it was no other than Clouse's father who had something to say about it. Edwin ran into the man at the end of the day as he was walking through the town, two girls tagging along with him.

Edwin recognized the younger of the two as Clouse herself. The little girl was hiding behind her older sister's skirt as her father talked to the stranger – there was no brashness and rudeness in her that Edwin remember. However he instantly saw the bond between the two siblings and realized very well why the older girl's death affected the younger one so much.

"A woman with amnesia?" the girls' father talked as Edwin tried to examine his daughters as discreetly as possible. He looked back at the man however, after his next words. "Yes, I've heard about her. It was a really long time ago now. Something about a woman with no memories turning up at one of the neighboring towns. Can't tell you which one, however." He ended apologetically and Edwin nodded, disappointed. He supposed he should be happy learning even this much after such a fruitless day, but the fact was, he was still nowhere near finding the woman.

He decided to head back to the inn then, figuring he would need to continue his search in other towns tomorrow. He was asking the innkeeper about the neighboring towns when his father came back as well.

"Hard to say anything" the older man answered Edwin's inquiring look. "I can't exactly come out and say everything I know. The best we can do is hope that this talking around the subject I'm doing now is going to be enough when the time comes. How about you? Any luck?"

Edwin shook his head.

"This is going to take longer than I thought" he admitted, sighing. "I'll have to go through all of the nearby towns, one by one and ask about."

And this was exactly what he did the following days. He'd leave Bregville early in the morning and go to one of the towns. The day would be spent asking about, but he'd never really learn anything useful. Then, depending on how late he'd come back, he'd either go straight to sleep or spend the evening talking with his father.

His father was eager to learn what happened to his son in the past. As Edwin suspected, he never tried to judge him for any of the decisions he had made, and was never disappointed in him. He'd simply nod where it was needed or expressed his condolences if it seemed right. The only time he expressed anything similar to surprise was when Edwin told him about the world on the other side of the gate. All the other time he simply listened.

It was refreshing to Edwin to finally talk to someone about his predicament. Even though most of their time at the moment was spent trying to solve the Majhal situation and getting to know each other without discussing what they were going to do afterwards, Edwin knew he now had at least one person with whom he could talk if he ever needed advice.

It was one and a half weeks before Edwin finally made a breakthrough. When he entered the town of the day, he didn't even have to begin to ask around since he almost ran into the woman he had been searching for so long now.

Karin looked quite a bit younger than what Edwin remembered, and he had to wonder if it wasn't being witness to the horrible things that Majhal did that made her age faster.

Edwin didn't waste any time after introducing himself and told her that he knew who she is. This was all she needed to hear to be convinced to come with him. It didn't take her much time to gather her things and they soon set out back to Bregville.

It wasn't very late yet when they set foot into the Bregville inn, but Edwin's father was already there. When the older alchemist saw a woman follow his son inside, he immediately asked if she was the one.

"Yes, this is Karin." Edwin answered and then smiled sheepishly. "Now all we have to do is… make her remember."

--

**A.N:** As much as this is fun, I don't think I'll be able to update as frequently in the future. So you'll have to wait a bit more for the next chapter.

Reviews will be hugged and kissed XD


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Look at any chapter before this one

**A.N:** Yeah, I know, I know, I'm horrible. But I will be the first to admit that my timing in starting to post the story sucked, since I _**knew**_ I would be incredibly busy the following few months. I had hoped (and still hope) that I will have MUCH more time after the 11th of July, but I'm not making any promises. You know what they say: if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans for tomorrow.

Anyway, here's the update (finally!). It's bad though (worse than usual I mean), because I'm so out of practice by now... I hope to get back in the rhythm soon though.

Another BIG thanks for those who added this story to their fav lists and story alerts… It makes me so happy. Not as happy as reviews of course xD. So a HUGE thanks to the reviewers xD

To Kajia: thanks for a review, and yes, Greta is an OC. She's just a shadow of Ed's past by now, however, so she's not that important.

--

**Chapter 5**

_Edward was almost feverishly looking from Alfons to Greta and then back again, trying to see something, _anything_ that could prove that they were imposters. How could he? How could Alfons lead him into this trap? And Greta… This just couldn't be true…_

"_Idiot boy, this will teach you to be more careful about whom to trust!" Elkhart laughed somewhere behind his back, but Edward didn't care about her at all. At that moment, all he could do was shake his head in denial and stumble backwards as Greta stepped towards him while Alfons moved somewhere to the side._

"_Edward…" Greta started, but didn't have a chance to finish._

"_Stay away!" Edward shouted, not letting his supposed friend speak, but she just continued on, making him step even further backwards._

"_Edward… We're sorry" she said, finally stopping at the very edge of the huge array, her left foot passing the first line. Noticing this Edward looked at his own feet and was startled to see that he had stumbled into the centre of the array. In fear of triggering something without even intending to, Edward was about to hurry back towards the edge when…_

"_Now!" Alfons' voice carried from somewhere behind Edward, but the young alchemist did not have the time to look at his best friend-turned-traitor before his attention was captured by some kind of movement above him._

_He looked up just in time to see Envy's jaws closing, and then a wave of blood rushing towards him. Surprisingly, most of the blood missed him, falling, instead, on the array's lines around him. There was a millisecond of terrifying silence, and then blood seemed too seep into the array, the white lines becoming red, and finally red light seemed to explode from where Edward was standing, mercilessly flying towards Edward's friends and foes alike._

--

"Shit!" Edwin exclaimed in a whisper as he once again woke from his dreams drenched in sweat and shivering in terror. "Goddamn nightmares!"

Edwin knew it was only natural of him to have nightmares. His inner psychiatrist even supplied him with reasons: the trauma was still fresh on his mind. Moreover, he didn't really have time to deal with the events in daytime, so his subconscious brought them out in his dreams.

The nightmares were all to be expected. It didn't mean he had to like them.

A couple of months have already passed since his latest meeting with Truth, and the nightmares had slowly lessened in frequency. The impact they had on him seemed to begin to diminish as well, at least as much as it was possible. However, ever since he met up with his father, they were back in full force, and not surprisingly, usually they depicted his father's death.

Because of this, Edwin found he tended to become unfocused from time to time, not to mention that he was constantly tired. However, it was one thing to get lost in your thoughts when you were traveling from one town to another and entirely different when you had to think of ways to get someone's memory back. He just didn't have time for them anymore.

Edwin exhaled loudly and sat up. It was the irony of his life, he thought, that he was doing his best to make a woman remember, when sometimes, all _he_ wanted to do was forget.

--

To make matters worse, things weren't going so well with Karin. They tried everything they could with her – from walking her around the town, to finding out where her accident happened and leading her there. It seemed that whatever was blocking her memory just didn't want to let go.

"Maybe I'm not really who you think I am?" the woman asked sadly on the evening of the second day of their attempts to restore her memory. They were sitting in the dining room of the hotel where all three of them now stayed. Edwin shook his head.

"You are" he answered without a shadow of doubt. She really was – Ed just couldn't have mistaken her for anyone else, and there weren't that many people running around with lost memory. This was the same Karin that Majhal loved so many years ago, but Edwin was still worried.

It's already been two weeks since he had left his childhood home, and he was getting anxious. He was worried about Edward's and Alphonse's reaction to their mother's illness. And he was even more worried about his mother's health. It was time he and his father went back, but they couldn't leave until this matter was dealt with.

But Edwin had no idea how to deal with it, and he was beginning to feel desperate. Karin's lost memory aside, there was no guarantee that Majhal's reaction to her reappearance would be any different from the past/future.

"I think I shall retire for the night" Karin said silently and got up. It was apparent in her voice that the initial happiness about someone knowing about her past was wearing off. After she bid them goodnight and disappeared behind the door leaving Edwin and his father alone, the younger of the two groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Didn't expect it to be this hard?" He heard his father ask in a carefully neutral voice.

"It's not like that" Edwin mumbled into his palms. "It's not like I expected this to go easy. It's just that I guess I didn't expect this to not go anywhere at all… I know what went wrong the last time, and I even know why. I just have no idea how to make those reasons disappear."

"Maybe you don't have to?" Hoenheim asked, and Edwin raised his head to look at him, confused. "I don't think it's too early to say that, at the very least, you have already saved that girl's you told me about sister. That's at least one part of the story that's already better. Maybe you're not supposed to try and save everyone? Maybe Majhal's and Karin's story is not supposed to have a good ending? You're not a God, Edward; don't try to bite off more than you can swallow."

But Edwin just shook his head.

"I might not be a God, but Truth is pretty damn close to one. If it sent me back and said I could save people, then that's what I'm supposed to do."

"And I'm not saying you're not" Hoenheim continued gently. "I'm just saying that you might not be supposed to save _everyone_. That you might have to make some extremely hard choices, and accept that you can't change everything. That way, if you fail to do something…"

"I can't fail. If I do, it means I'm not good enough for this." Edwin interrupted suddenly.

"No, it just means you're human" Hoenheim corrected, but Edwin just stubbornly shook his head. The older Alchemist sighed and seemed to contemplate for a few moments whether he should continue to argue or not, but seemed to decide against it.

"Anyway" he spoke again, after a few moments of silence. "I think tomorrow we should take Karin to meet with Majhal."

"What?" Edwin exclaimed, surprised.

"Think about it" the Light Alchemist explained "At the pace it's going, Karin's not getting her memory back any time soon. And the only thing from her past that we haven't exposed her to yet is Majhal himself."

Edwin frowned, far from convinced, so Hoenheim tried to explain his reasoning.

"If I'm not mistaken, then this time around he should be more inclined to believe in us and accept Karin. Last time… It wasn't only that Karin was older and less beautiful that made Majhal reject her. It was the fact that by accepting her he would have to accept the fact that he had killed for no apparent reason. Moreover, there has been a little bit less time for thoughts about her resurrection to twist his mind so much. The Majhal that I've met so many years ago was not a bad person. He did become an alchemist to help people."

"And at the very least, we will still be there to deal with the consequences."

--

Just like that, tomorrow morning the three of them could be seen heading towards Majhal's home. The townsfolk have already gotten used to them roaming around the town, however, that morning they still turned to look at them as if sensing that something unusual was about to happen.

"So this Majhal is the person that I used to love, is that right?" Karin asked, slightly out of breath as she followed them.

"Yes." Edwin replied quickly, since they have already told her that a few times.

"But why are we going to him now? I still don't remember anything!" she argued, trying to understand, but instead of answering her, the two of them stopped and Hoenheim gestured forward.

"We're here" he said, and moved to knock on the door while Karin stepped behind the two of them, as if to hide. The door was soon opened and Majhal appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, it's you again Hoenheim." He mumbled, looking far from pleased. "And what's this, you brought some friends with you?" the alchemist asked, but before Edwin's father could answer, a loud thud interrupted him. Edwin almost sighed because of the cliché as he turned back to see that Karin had fainted.

"Oh my." Majhal exclaimed, quickly moving to her side. "Is she ill? Get her inside, I should look at her."

--

After the woman was safely taken inside and lying on sofa, the two blond alchemists almost forgot how to breathe when Majhal knelt down beside her to check what was wrong with her.

"Do you know why she fainted? Does she have some kind of condition?" Majhal was asking as he was checking her forehead.

"I don't think it's something to worry about too much" Hoenheim answered a bit awkwardly.

"Why did you bring her here?" Majhal asked as he was still examining her. "She's not from this town, is she? I would know if she were… And yet…" He stopped to stare at her face "And yet she looks so familiar. Almost like… like Karin." His eyes widened as he turned to stare at Hoenheim now.

"She looks just like Karin! Only older. What did you do? You talked on and on about how dangerous human transmutation is and yet you did it yourself?!" Suddenly, the furious man was up on his feet and grabbed Hoenheim by his collar. "How dare you? What did you do? Why did she faint? What did you do wrong?!" He was shaking the Light Alchemist by then, and Edwin realized he must intervene.

"Stop that!" he shouted and hurriedly plied Majhal's fingers from his father's collar. After being freed, his father gasped to regain his breath.

"Don't make assumptions about things you don't understand." Edwin continued, since his father was in no condition to. "Look at her! She's not a result of some… some transmutation! She's a real person. The same one that you knew all those years ago! She didn't die in that accident; she just lost her memory and didn't know where to go."

"Who the hell are you?" Majhal asked, his anger redirected at him now. "What would you know about Karin and her accident?"

"I know enough to understand that she fainted just now most likely because she regained her memories! Do you want her to wake up and hear you calling her a transmutation? Didn't you love her?" Edwin tried to convince. Majhal stepped, back and looked towards the woman lying on the sofa again.

"But…She died, she must have." He whispered, but his voice lacked conviction "Because I've searched, and searched and searched… But I could never find her! She must have died." He mumbled, as if afraid to believe.

"She's alive, you've made a mistake." Edwin answered him, and Hoenheim glanced at him sharply to be careful about what he said. "Do not make another one by trying to resurrect a person that isn't dead."

As if by a script, Karin's eyelids chose that moment to flutter open, and after a few milliseconds of disorientation her eyes focused on the love from her past.

"Majhal?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Karin?" the alchemist answered back, his voice not much stronger than hers.

"I… I remember…" she started but didn't finish, her gaze becoming dazed "Where are we? Who are these people?" she said suddenly focusing on Edwin and his father, surprising them.

"She must be confused from regaining her memories. It will take her some time to sort everything out." Hoenheim contemplated out loud before turning to Majhal. The other alchemist seemed to be almost as confused as the woman was.

"Are you going to be there for her and help, or are you going to insist that she's not real?"

"I… I will help." Majhal mumbled, and sat down since he was close to following Karin's earlier example and fainting.

--

"Ha, that was much easier than I thought it would be" Edwin exclaimed loudly, reverting for a moment to his former arrogant self. His father could only watch silently as the blonde strode towards their inn, almost bouncing on his feet.

It had indeed gone much easier than either of them thought it would go. After Majhal's promise to help Karin they called a doctor, who examined the shocked pair and told them that they are perfectly alright and only need to rest and calm down a bit. After he left, he must have felt a necessity to tell everyone he met that the woman everyone thought to be dead was alive and well, since Hoenheim and his son, who left only a few minutes afterwards, were once again stared at and whispered about as they strolled through the town.

The older man, however, didn't feel as happy as he felt he should be. His yesterday's conversation with Edwin repeated itself in his head, and Hoenheim couldn't help but feel worried about his son. As much as it was a relief that everything was going well, he knew it couldn't last forever. And if Edwin were to become too sure about himself… if he ever failed… Hoenheim wasn't sure the younger man would be able to stand up again and carry on with his self appointed mission.

--

It didn't take long for them to pay their bills at the inn they had stayed in and make sure the innkeeper would inform them immediately should he hear something suspicious about Majhal's activities. In the couple of weeks they had stayed at the inn, the old man succeeded in convincing them of both his ability to keep track of everything that was going on in the town and his trustworthiness.

Of course, neither of them felt comfortable about leaving Majhal and Karin even if the alchemist didn't seem to be dangerous anymore. But at the same time they both wanted to get back home as soon as it was possible.

Still, there were mixed feelings about this homecoming. While both of them did want to see their family as soon as possible, they were unsure about what to expect.

Well, Edwin was sure they shouldn't expect a warm welcome from Edward. It felt weird, not knowing how to deal with his own (at least kind of) actions.

At least, after the recent success, Edwin finally felt sure about why he was back here. It was obviously to make things right, and he actually felt like he could do it after dealing with his first real hurdle successfully.

And yet, the nearer they were to home, the more this "I can do anything" feeling vanished. And by the time he stood in front of his house, it was dark and he felt like a kid, about to face his mother after missing his curfew. By a few weeks. Without even telling her he's going out at all.

To sum up, he didn't really feel up to it when he told his father to step aside so that his mother wouldn't be too shocked when she opened the door. Still, he took a deep breath and knocked.

Only a few moments of uncomfortable silence later they could hear steps, and soon the door opened to reveal Hoenheim Elric's wife. After she saw that it was Edwin at the door, her face lit up with a smile and she greeted him enthusiastically:

"Edwin! You're finally back! We were so worried! I was beginning to think you weren't coming back after all."

"I'm not alone" Edwin blurted out, without thinking, making his mother look at him strangely. '_Perfect, Edward, make her think you brought your imaginary friend with you_' he thought and then continued embarrassed. "I brought someone with me" and he gestured to his father to come out.

For a few seconds Trisha seemed to freeze up and even forget to breathe. Then, slowly, her eyes began to water and a moment later she was already stepping into the embrace of her husband.

"Oh, Hoenheim… You're back… You're back…" she began repeating like some kind of mantra, as if trying to enchant the moment so that it wouldn't disappear. Edwin could only stand awkwardly on the side, not really knowing what to do.

Finally, Trisha let go her husband and turned to Edwin, her gaze full of gratitude.

"How did you?.. Did you go off especially to find him?" she finally asked, he voice still shaky from the shock.

"I remembered something I have heard in my travels, and thought I could give it a try." Edwin answered, still feeling awkward and bad about not telling the truth. "Shall we go inside? We should inform the boys."

The boys turned out to be in the living room, and, as usual in the evenings, studying alchemy. They were so engrossed in it that Mrs. Elric had to clap her hands to get their attention. When they finally did look up, their reactions greatly differed. Edward's face immediately clouded up after seeing his father and he froze, whereas Alphonse sprang into action and soon Edwin found his arms full of not-quite-his-younger-brother.

"Edwin-nii-chan! You're back! You've been gone so long, I missed you!" The youngest in the room exclaimed in joy. Edwin could only smile back at him.

"I missed you too, Al." he said, but then turned to look at Ed, who still hadn't moved. Al finally seemed to sense that something was not quite right, and turned to look at his brother as well.

"Ed, Edwin-nii-chan is back! Aren't you glad?" He asked, but getting no reaction from him followed his gaze to the strange man that came back with his beloved mentor.

"Alphonse, dear," Trisha started gently "This man here is your father. He has come back home."

Before Al had time to react, everyone's attention was drawn back to the elder brother, as he angrily jumped to his feet, grabbed the first book he could and quickly stomped out from the room.

"Father?" Edwin heard the bundle in his hands ask in wonder, making everyone come out from the stupor that they fell into after his brother's display. Hoenheim smiled at the little boy, and soon had Al hugging him instead of Edwin.

Edwin didn't mind. In fact, he was struggling to get his feelings under control as he gazed onto the scene he never got to see in his own childhood – his father hugging his brother while their mother shed tears of happiness. In that moment, everything seemed to be worth it. It didn't matter what kind of hardships he had to live through, or how many he would still have to live through. It was all worth it for the sake of this moment, when the most precious people in his life shared this short moment of happiness.

In fact, it didn't even really matter that he was an outsider. Speaking of himself… Edwin's gaze left the happy family and he hesitantly left the room to follow his younger self.

He knew that the younger him would react this way. He remembered how much he hated his father even before their mother's death, after which his hate only doubled. He had moved past it, however, and looking back he could admit to himself that most of that hate was none other then his feelings of hurt and abandonment. It was just so much easier to hate his father rather than admit he felt betrayed and lonely.

He found Edward, just as he expected, curled into a ball on his bed. He sat down beside him and heard a muffled "Go away!", but the boy didn't move away from his touch when Edwin put a hand on his shoulder.

'_This is so not for me. I'm not_ that_ mature yet'_ Edwin thought to himself, frowning, but knew he had the biggest chance in convincing Edward.

"I know you're mad at him, and probably at me too, since I brought him back. And you think we're all just stupid adults who don't understand how you feel. So I won't try to convince you otherwise, even if I _do_ understand." He finally said. "He's not a bad guy, you know. He had his reasons for leaving, and I'm sure he'll tell you in time. I just think you should give him a chance."

He boy on the bed didn't move an inch.

"You don't have to do it tonight, or even tomorrow. You have all the time in the world, he's not going anywhere." Edwin tried again, and he saw Ed relax a bit. He stayed a few more minutes in silence, before leaving his younger self to sulk alone.

When he stepped back into the living room, Trisha was nowhere to be seen and Al was sitting in his father's lap, demonstrating the little alchemy he already knew.

"She went to make tea" Hoenheim answered his questioning gaze, while all Al's concentration was focused on drawing some array or another. "And how is?.."

"You should just begin teaching Al alchemy, Ed will be too curious to stay away" Edwin tried to joke, but soon added seriously. "He'll be fine. He just needs some time."

"I'm glad" he was startled to hear his mother's voice behind him. "And then, all of us could be one big happy family." She moved to put the tray she was carrying on the table and then turned to smile Edwin, who was about to get depressed because of her statement

"You, Edwin, included. You sure look the part, and even though it had only been a couple of months, it still feels like you're part of the family."

It was happiness, relief and all kinds of other good feelings that washed over Edwin in waves after her words. He was home. He felt safe. And he will do everything to make this feeling last as long as it was possible.

--

**A.N:** Ok, this calls for another apology. If anyone thinks the ending of the Majhal issue was a bit anticlimactic… You're right. But it was supposed to be like that. It was difficult to decide how to deal with them. On one hand, the issue had no real impact on the plot as a whole (I don't think we'll see either Karin or Majhal again), but on the other hand, it had a huge impact on Edwin's morale…

So anyway, after deciding on such a disappointing solution, I thought I'd apologize for it by making the chapter go much further than I initially thought it would go and brought them home… But this was even more disappointing, since I feel it turned out kind of… stale. -Sigh- I hope you still managed to enjoy the chapter at least a little bit. I promise to try harder in the future.

Review please! It will make me try even harder xD


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